The firenado stretches into the sky as dark smoke billows from the flames

Towering inferno: What is a firenado?

ALSO known as a fire whirl, a firenado is created as cool air meets the top of intensely hot air from a blaze.

This causes a swirl similar to how a tornado is formed.

Turbulent wind conditions also help to whip up the firenado — forming a long thin vortex that sucks in debris and combustible gasses.

Firenados have been known to uproot treets 50ft trees — and can stretch a kilometre into the sky.

Most large firenados are formed in wildfires.

The deadliest fire whirl in history took place amid an earthqake in Kanto, Japan in 1923.

The quake led to a city-wide firestorm — creating a giant firenado that killed 38,000 people in just 15 minutes.

East Midlands Ambulance Service attended amid fears night shift staff may have been caught up in the inferno but no injuries were reported.

A spokesman for Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "At the height of the fire, 10 fire engines, crews and specialist appliances from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire had been at the incident."

Panicked locals swamped emergency services with calls this morning after waking up to find huge smoke plumes in the sky.

Three fire crews attended the inferno along with coastguard, police and paramedics.

Two California wildfires have merged, creating the largest blaze in the state's history

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